Eldárien and Elmáriyë both feel it: the attack comes in a matter of days. The sense of impending danger, the darkness that flows in as if on the fringes of their consciousness and grows hour by hour—all of this and more awakens in them the conviction that they have very little time to prepare the … Read More “Dawnbringer: Lightborn 4.2 – Under the City” »
Vast caverns of stone spread in all directions far beneath the earth, their only illumination the veins of precious ore that weave through the darker rock like blood vessels through the body, bringing not life but light. And yet here light is life, and darkness is death. For ever since the Empire began to exile … Read More “Dawnbringer: Lightborn 4.1 – In the Caverns of Darkness” »
After Eldárien has finished speaking, Tilliána replies, “Your words are very kind and full of love. And I know from whence they arise, for I feel the same in my heart. You speak of desire, but also of call. The desire I understand. But… But the call I doubt and I fear. No, no…it is … Read More “Dawnbringer: Lightborn 3.14 – A Sacrifice of Flame” »
How is it that solitude can be both attractive and frightening, and that the experience of aloneness can be filled both with the deep pang of one’s loneliness and with the joy of a deeper presence? But so it is. This Eldárien knows and feels now, realizing that for weeks his heart has been yearning … Read More “Dawnbringer: Lightborn 3.13 – Hope in being Held” »
After Rórlain and Eldárien have finished speaking, the responses of the council of the rulers of Onylándun remain mixed, confused, and conflicted. At first there are a few courteous remarks exchanged between diverse members of the council, but then a tense thread emerges between them and soon one of the men to the hæras’ side … Read More “Dawnbringer: Lightborn 3.12 – In Council” »
The day dawns bright and clear, with the rays of the sun reflecting off the buildings opposite the inn and taberna and sending rays of warm light through the thin curtains of the window of the room in which the companions rest. However, whenever they emerge into the street and step forth into the daytime … Read More “Dawnbringer: Lightborn 3.11 – The Cycle” »
Elmáriyë and Eldárien speak with the parents of their mother until late in the night, sharing with them much about their own lives, though their grandparents seem to know a great deal of it already. They also receive tales of their mother in her youth, and their hearts are stirred with wonder and gratitude to … Read More “Dawnbringer: Lightborn 3.10 – Onylandun” »
“I have been bereaved of my parents twice over,” Eldárien says when the account has concluded, “and yet I have also found a kin whom I did not know, and a home deeper than memory, untouched by evil or by harm.” “That is indeed true,” Seriyéna says, her countenance touched with tender compassion as she … Read More “Dawnbringer: Lightborn 3.9 – Confluence” »
The early morning sun shines through the dense trees in the east and glistens on the elegant buildings of the velstadeä as Elmáriyë sits on the porch of their dwelling, her hands clasped upon her lap. Late in the evening of the previous night Eléndras had shown them to a structure not far from the … Read More “Dawnbringer: Lightborn 3.8 – Forgotten and Found” »
I. At the beginning of time, before the aeons of aeons, there was the One, who is called Eldáru, the Giver of all. From him all things that exist came to be; and they came to be as gift, born from the bosom of his eternal love, which is ceaseless delight and everlasting play. Thus, … Read More “Dawnbringer: Lightborn 3.7 – The Arechaion” »